China Crackdown on Illegal Visa Overstays with Strict Punishment

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Expats may encounter the tricky situation where they forget that their visa or residence permit has expired. If a foreigner’s total length of stay in China exceeds the appointed time on the visa, they will be deemed to have overstayed the visa and will need to address the issue.

Overstaying in China:

Overstaying, also called illegal residence, means that one remains in a country after his/her visa or residence permit has expired. If an alien’s total length of stay in China exceeds the appointed time on the visa, they will be deemed to have overstayed the visa. For instance, if a foreigner enters China on June 19 with a 30-day visa, he/she is supposed to leave on July 19. Since the stay length in China is counted from 00:00 the next morning following the entry date, if the foreigner leaves on July 22, he/she will have overstayed the visa by three days.

Note that if the scheduled time on your departure ticket is later than your visa’s expiration time, you will be regarded as having overstayed even if you go through the immigration inspection before the visa expiration time. However, if your scheduled departure time precedes the visa expiration time, but the carrier changes the schedule, you won’t have overstayed your visa.

Do I Have A Grace Period?

According to the current policy, there is no grace period for illegal aliens overstaying in China, so overstaying your visa is not recommended. However, if you have overstayed your China visa for only one or two days, go to the exit and entry administration of the local PSB (Public Security Bureau) to apologize and explain the reason(s). In this case, you might not need to pay the fine.

What Are the Penalties for Overstaying in China & How Much Does It Cost?

Based on the current immigration regulations, there are different punishments for foreigners according to the length of the overstay.

 1. Aliens overstaying the visa or residence permit for a short period will be given a warning and be required to pay a fine. Usually, the penalty is CNY500 per day, not to exceed CNY10,000.

2. If one overstays the visa for a significant period, usually over one month, he/she might be put into a detention camp for 5 to 15 days and repatriated to his home country. It's possible they will be blacklisted, which will affect re-entry to China, and they may be prohibited from entering the country for ten years. In addition to this, it might also influence one's visa application(s) for other countries.

3. For those foreigners who have incurred a detention, they should pay the fine at the designated bank, then go through the detention formalities at local public security department. Another period of stay shall be no more than 15 days.

What Can I Do after Overstaying?

If you have overstayed your visa in mainland China, you should report your situation to the local police station as soon as possible, pay the fine, and then apply for an exit permit to leave the country.

Law Reference

1. Exit and Entry Administration Law of China.

2. Regulations of China on Administration of the Entry and Exit of Foreigners.

3. Regulations of China on Frontier Inspection of Exit from or Entry Into the Country.

4. The Rules of Administrative Penalties for the Implementation of Frontier Inspection of Exit from or Entry Into the Country.

 

How Do I Prevent Unintentional Overstaying in China?

In order to prevent unintentional overstaying, you should remember your date of entering the country and length of your visa. Moreover, you should learn how to calculate the stay length. Understanding that the stay length is counted from the next day is critical to prevent overstaying in China unintentionally. In addition, if you want to stay longer, you can apply for an extension 7 days before your visa expires.

How to apply for an extra 7 days before the visa expires?

Officially you can apply 4 weeks before the visa expires by going to Hong Kong because the Entry & Exit Laws view going to Hong Kong as technically leaving China to go abroad.

Go to your local Exit and Entry Administration Bureau, provide your passport, form of temporary residence registration (the original and copy file) and one two-inch color portrait photo against a white background. Last but not least, you must go to the Bureau to personally sign the application form for a visa and residence permit for foreigners.

Warning!

A fine, or a deportation will be kept in filed, which will have negative impacts on your visa application records. So double check and keep note of the allowed duration of your stay!

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